.  I was sure that this author would definitely put my character’s role as Yi Ruda’s underling; this was something I inferred based on her behavior thus far. At last, the moment had come. The moment where I could earn her trust and form a steadfast relationship with Yi Ruda.

  How could I figure that out? It was due to the pieces of evidence I had gathered.

  As I mentioned earlier from my examples, a situation would arise wherein a male protagonist would yell to the female protagonist the ‘I’m a monster!’ line. When this happened, how would the female protagonist react? Wasn’t it simple?

  Tears filled her eyes from the deep sympathy she would evoke. Contrary to what the man had said, she would move toward the guy with courage one step at a time. His eyes would then tremble accordingly.

  Then the girl would finally stop at a few inches away from the guy wherein she would say to him.

  “You’re not a monster.”


  “…”


  “It’s impossible for someone as beautiful as you to become a monster.”


  The guy would then break into tears, reminiscing the past. The girl would quietly hug his back as the scene reached its end.

  Sigh. I looked up to see Yi Ruda’s blue eyes. To apply the entirety of my explanation to my current situation, it would be something like this.

  Yi Ruda would say, “Don’t you see my blue eyes? I… I’m a devil! I’m a monster! A monster who will ruin you!”


  Based on how plots like these would typically go, the reaction I should take is simple. If I tell her that she’s not a monster and shed some tears for her, I could remain as Yi Ruda’s bestie for life. Then I would get along with her, going to nightclubs, bars, and meeting gangsters… regardless of my status as a student.

  Ha! I sneered at the author. Yi Ruda seemed to be a little surprised as I burst out laughing out of the silence. Her blue eyeballs rolled showing her confusion.

  I said to myself, ‘Sorry, Yi Ruda. I don’t wish to offend your overly joyful brain, but I just want to know how this novel would unfold its story. Please forgive me.’


  A moment later, I showed Yi Ruda a bright smile. She looked as if I had knocked her down with a feather. I spat out the word abruptly.

  “Yeah, maybe a bit.”


  “…?”


  “Since I’m a Korean, you do look a little bit like a monster, but not extremely monstrous. Just a regular monster.”


  She stared at me with a dumbstruck expression. I apologized to her in my head. I am not a stupidly racist person, so no offense. Her blue eyes were beautiful. If I minded her eyes, why would I be friends with Yoo Chun Young or Woo Jooin?

  However, I could not blurt out those confessions so nonchalantly. I felt apologetic for her, but I need to distance myself from her. When her bitter face came into my eyes, I must have applied salt on her wounds directly and deeply.

  Her stiff face made me think, ‘Yes! Hurray! I did it!’


  As I went completely insane within my head, light laughter burst out from behind.

  That clear and ringing voice was rare, so when I turned my head back, there stood Ban Yeo Ryung smiling with her hand covering her mouth. Her eyes were narrowly bent like a half-moon as she looked at Yi Ruda.

  Yi Ruda, however, did not even realize she had been the subject of her sneers. Was it too shocking? I slowly took her arm and shook it. She then had her eyes on me.

  I shrugged with a nonchalant smile.

  I said, “Ruda, let’s go.”


  As soon as I opened the office door, I stretched my hands toward her as I hesitantly grabbed her arms. If Yi Ruda pulled her arms away from me, my plan would be 100% successful.

  While I got out of the teacher’s office, I scowled at how we’re still walking arm-in-arm with each other.

  Come on, wasn’t she annoyed of the girl who called her a monster suddenly holding her arm and acting friendly all of a sudden? Wasn’t she pissed off? Didn’t she want to ruin everything? Now refuse me! Come on!

  I almost cast a spell to myself like that as I walked out of the office ever so slowly. However, even when I shut the door, nothing happened.

  I dropped my blank gaze at my arm and lifted my head to look at Yi Ruda’s face. She, however, looked quite strange.

  Her cheeks, which were transparently pale until a while ago, had blushed out of the blue?

  My blank stare at her made me think, ‘Is she having a cold? Maybe.”


  However, I recognized that detaching my logic from reality would not help at all, so I released her arm from mine. Then I strode along the hallway, leaving her standing still.

  As I crossed the hallway, I considered, ‘Okay, maybe she turned red out of anger. Come on, she wouldn’t say something lame like “You’re the one and only girl to say like that!” or something like that, right? No way.’


  It was at that very moment when I heard a scarily bright voice soaring over to me.

  “Don… Donnie…!”


  I turned my head. The way she initially called me had no intention at all; however, her voice now was slightly trembling. Her blushed cheeks were even burning harder like the morning sun.

  I gazed at her vacantly. She then opened her mouth.

  “Um… let’s go… go together.”


  “…”


  “Can I hold… your… h… hand?”


  I froze like a snowman for a second then quickly continued my pace. Yi Ruda strode toward me with her long legs and caught me soon.

  Without knowing that Ban Yeo Ryung was looking at us from behind, I just continued moving, almost running, to escape from Yi Ruda’s hand.

  I never felt that walking down the sunny hallway could make me so afraid.

  * * *

  Every teacher had a different style in tackling classroom management, so although Class 1-8 announced the temporary class presidents like a flash, Class 1-1 approached this by electing students. As soon as Ban Yeo Ryung and Kwon Eun Hyung got the call from their teacher and left the classroom, the overall atmosphere had finally calmed down a notch. This, however, did not remove everyone’s eyes on the Four Heavenly Kings.

  Eun Jiho wanted to complain about it. He wanted to do something about their stares or else he would die from discomfort. How long would it take for them to get used to it?

  Woo Jooin was still playing portable video games, while Eun Jiho had a dull face with his chin resting on his hand and staring at the blackboard that had ‘Ban Yeo Ryung,’ ‘Kwon Eun Hyung,’ and the votes they earned. Suddenly, the classroom door swung opened. Eun Jiho’s face then brightened a little.

  He was about to say to Ban Yeo Ryung and Kwon Eun Hyung, ‘You guys made it quick. What does the teacher say?’ or something like that.

  However, he could not say a word when Ban Yeo Ryung, who paced quickly toward him with a demoness-like face, came into his eyes. An aura of pitch blackness was rising behind her jet-black hair.

  Usually, Kwon Eun Hyung would have calmed her down before she reached that level. Eun Jiho wondered what the situation was all about as he looked behind Ban Yeo Ryung, but Kwon Eun Hyung also had a face like a wet weekend. His gentle eyes had become that of a bloodthirsty hound. It made Eun Jiho draw in his breath involuntarily.

  Someone else would be significantly better than Kwon Eun Hyung when it comes to getting mad. It was even 100 times more frightening than when Yoo Chun Young was mad. There was a reason why Kwon Eun Hyung was the greatest fighter of the Four Heavenly Kings.

  Eun Jiho recalled what he heard from Yoo Chun Young before.

  A few months after Kwon Eun Hyung’s mother passed away when he was six, something happened in his kindergarten class. Kwon Eun Hyung and a boy had a fistfight until they shed a few drops of blood.

  The fight began because a girl had a crush on Kwon Eun Hyung. The boy who confessed his love to the girl received an answer that stated, ‘I like Eun Hyung.’ As soon as the kid heard that response, he approached to Kwon Eun Hyung right away, throwing punches at him without notice.

  Generally, it is said that the one who threw the first punch would win the fight; however, Kwon Eun Hyung showed a stunning move which was not something a child would typically do, overturning the situation that led to him beating the boy to a pulp.

  It was not that brutal though. Eun Hyung just returned the same amount of punches the boy gave him.

  Consequently, when the two boys were drawn to the principal’s office, their mouths were both swollen. There were even some bruises all over their faces.